U.S. Pat. No. 183,982 entitled "Umbrella Tip-Cups" to O. M. Smith disclosed a spring plate (g) resiliently secured to a slide member (D) having a cup (f) formed on an upper portion of the slide member (D), with the spring plate (g) operatively depressing a spring catch (a) for unlocking the slide member on the umbrella stick (A). The cup (f) seems to be an enlarged "holding portion" adapted for an upward pushing by a user's hand. However, this prior art still lacks of a finger-holding portion for downwardly moving the slide member (D) when closing the umbrella by inwardly depressing the spring catch (a) by depressing the spring plate (g), thereby influencing a smooth downward movement of the slide (D) when closing and folding the umbrella.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,699 entitled "Safety Runner for Use in Umbrellas" to C. S. Kou disclosed a cap for covering wire ends of a fastening wire fastened on the runner. However, the acute wire ends protruded from the runner may still injure a worker when assembling the cap on the ferrule of the runner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,237 entitled "Shelter Means on Umbrella Ferrules for Concealing Wire Ends of Rib-fastening Wire" to C. K. Yang disclosed a shelter device having a sheath portion formed with a tubular hole for concealing the wire ends of the fastening wire on the runner into the hole of the sheath portion. However, it is very difficult to open the elongate sheath portion in order to embed the wire ends into the tubular hole of the sheath portion, thereby decreasing the production efficiency whenever concealing the wire ends of the rib-fastening wire into the shelter device of the umbrella runner.
The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the conventional umbrella runner, and invented the present ergonomic safety runner for umbrella.